The object of this blog began as a display of a varied amount of writings, scribblings and rantings that can be easily analysed by technology today to present the users with a clearer picture of the state of their minds, based on tests run on their input and their uses of the technology we are advocating with www.projectbrainsaver.com

Saturday, 8 January 2011

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Funny how no coincidence ever really seems accidental. Certainly the gods must be smiling at whatever has put new shows by Wangechi Mutu and Adam Helms in back-to-back Chelsea galleries. Their unexpected juxtaposition creates a parallel universe that is both beautiful and chilling.

At first glance, Mutu’s fetishistic take on women’s bodies as repositories of violence and desire appears the polar opposite of Helms’s drawings of anonymous terrorists and revolutionaries. But they have more in common than just the wall between them.

The egad factor runs pretty high in both shows. At the Barbara Gladstone Gallery, the Kenyan-born Mutu festoons the female figures in her opulent collages with glittery agglomerations of beads set off by cutouts from fashion and porn magazines. Like Mystique from “X-Men,” they are sexy, scaly and scary for the liberating charge they give to her archetypal African women and the clash of Western and non-Western values embedded within them. Something of the same is true of the male archetypes in the suite of 48 charcoal drawings that Helms made for “Without Name,” his show at the Marianne Boesky Gallery. Though masked, bearded, hooded and veiled, they exude a Che Guevara-like charisma that makes their real-life missions all the more frightening.

Helms, 36, fashioned the drawings after Gerhard Richter’s “48 Portraits,” black-and-white paintings of significant male thinkers of the 20th century – men like Einstein, Kafka, Freud and Ghandi. Helms has kept a reproduction in his studio since 1994, when he started noticing photographs of I.R.A., Khmer Rouge, Chechen and other rebels in daily newspapers, and became both fascinated by their appearance and horrified by what they were doing. He made inky drawings based on those pictures. Then came the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center and the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. “Looks like the world has caught up with your work,” a friend told him.

To make the pictures at Boesky, Helms enlarged thumbnail photos from the Internet to the size of the Richter portraits, printed out the now-bitmapped images and started drawing in heavy charcoal. “I wanted them to have weight as objects,” he says, “to get the black parts as velvety black as could be.” They’re dark, all right, in more ways than one, making the lighter parts, where the paper shows through, luminous and ghostly.

Details of their features sink into the darker parts and bleach out in the lighter ones, making the portraits seem otherworldly and the threat they pose even more real. A bearded man, seen in agonized profile, looks dead but isn’t. A burning pair of eyes is all that is visible in another man’s head. From across the room, a man who appears to be wearing the helmet of a medieval knight turns out to be swathed in a kaffiyeh typical of Hamas. The spectral white hood emerging from the next portrait suggests the Klu Klux Klan but actually represents the Shining Path movement of Peru. And the exuberant smile on one of the few bared faces suggests that killing can be fun.

Together the portraits form a picture of the world we live in now, and there isn’t a thinker among them. But they add up to a powerful assembly of political forces whose images were calculated to incite the public, and Helms burrows into their depths for a glimmer of humanity beneath their brutal facade.

On corresponding walls next door at Gladstone, Mutu has hung another index of human behavior that looks gorgeous and is terribly disturbing. It is “Moth Girls,” an installation of dozens of ceramic figurines with leather wings, feather antennae and bare female legs positioned closed, crossed and apart, as if they were exercising at a ballet barre or wrestling with invisible lovers. Pinned to blackened papers in four repeating rows, they surround viewers like the butterflies of a mad collector showing off her prize catch.

The whole thing is so crazy and compelling that I wondered if Mutu actually had such a collection. No, she said at her opening. Moths infested her apartment and were driving her nuts at the time she was making the show. “They eat everything!” she said, still sounding upset. “And they’re almost impossible to get rid of.” So she did the next best thing and turned her frustration into art. Which is far more fun than going to war and, at least in these two shows, totally killing.

NOT every generation is given the chance to turn the page on the past and write a new chapter in history. Yet today — after 50 years of civil wars that have killed two million people and turned millions more into refugees — this is the opportunity before the people of southern Sudan.

Over the next week, millions of southern Sudanese will vote on whether to remain part of Sudan or to form their own independent nation. This process — and the actions of Sudanese leaders — will help determine whether people who have known so much suffering will move toward peace and prosperity, or slide backward into bloodshed. It will have consequences not only for Sudan, but also for sub-Saharan Africa and the world.

The historic vote is an exercise in self-determination long in the making, and it is a key part of the 2005 peace agreement that ended the civil war in Sudan. Yet just months ago, with preparations behind schedule, it was uncertain whether this referendum would take place at all. It is for this reason that I gathered with leaders from Sudan and around the world in September to make it clear that the international community was united in its belief that this referendum had to take place and that the will of the people of southern Sudan had to be respected, regardless of the outcome.

In an important step forward, leaders from both northern and southern Sudan — backed by more than 40 nations and international organizations — agreed to work together to ensure that the voting would be timely, peaceful, free and credible and would reflect the will of the Sudanese people. The fact that the voting appears to be starting on time is a tribute to those in Sudan who fulfilled their commitments. Most recently, the government of Sudan said that it would be the first to recognize the south if it voted for independence.

Now, the world is watching, united in its determination to make sure that all parties in Sudan live up to their obligations. As the referendum proceeds, voters must be allowed access to polling stations; they must be able to cast their ballots free from intimidation and coercion. All sides should refrain from inflammatory rhetoric or provocative actions that could raise tensions or prevent voters from expressing their will.

As the ballots are counted, all sides must resist prejudging the outcome. For the results to be credible, the commission that is overseeing the referendum must be free from pressure and interference. In the days ahead, leaders from north and south will need to work together to prevent violence and ensure that isolated incidents do not spiral into wider instability. Under no circumstance should any side use proxy forces in an effort to gain an advantage while we wait for the final results.

A successful vote will be cause for celebration and an inspiring step forward in Africa’s long journey toward democracy and justice. Still, lasting peace in Sudan will demand far more than a credible referendum.

The 2005 peace agreement must be fully implemented — a goal that will require compromise. Border disputes, and the status of the Abyei region, which straddles north and south, need to be resolved peacefully. The safety and citizenship of all Sudanese, especially minorities — southerners in the north and northerners in the south — have to be protected. Arrangements must be made for the transparent distribution of oil revenues, which can contribute to development. The return of refugees needs to be managed with extraordinary care to prevent another humanitarian catastrophe.

If the south chooses independence, the international community, including the United States, will have an interest in ensuring that the two nations that emerge succeed as stable and economically viable neighbors, because their fortunes are linked. Southern Sudan, in particular, will need partners in the long-term task of fulfilling the political and economic aspirations of its people.

Finally, there can be no lasting peace in Sudan without lasting peace in the western Sudan region of Darfur. The deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent Darfuris — and the plight of refugees like those I met in a camp in neighboring Chad five years ago — must never be forgotten. Here, too, the world is watching. The government of Sudan must live up to its international obligations. Attacks on civilians must stop. United Nations peacekeepers and aid workers must be free to reach those in need.

As I told Sudanese leaders in September, the United States will not abandon the people of Darfur. We will continue our diplomatic efforts to end the crisis there once and for all. Other nations must use their influence to bring all parties to the table and ensure they negotiate in good faith. And we will continue to insist that lasting peace in Darfur include accountability for crimes that have been committed, including genocide.

Along with our international partners, the United States will continue to play a leadership role in helping all the Sudanese people realize the peace and progress they deserve. Today, I am repeating my offer to Sudan’s leaders — if you fulfill your obligations and choose peace, there is a path to normal relations with the United States, including the lifting of economic sanctions and beginning the process, in accordance with United States law, of removing Sudan from the list of states that sponsor terrorism. In contrast, those who flout their international obligations will face more pressure and isolation.

Millions of Sudanese are making their way to the polls to determine their destiny. This is the moment when leaders of courage and vision can guide their people to a better day. Those who make the right choice will be remembered by history — they will also have a steady partner in the United States.

At its annual meeting at Sardi's restaurant in New York City, the group, which consists of 61 voting members, also gave its best director prize to Social Network's David Fincher, hailed the movie's star Jesse Eisenberg as best actor and gave its screenplay award to Aaron Sorkin.

Giovanna Mezzogiorno was chosen best actress for her performance as Mussolini's mistress in the Italian film Vincere.

Supporting actor laurels were handed to Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech and Olivia Williams for The Ghost Writer.

Richard Deakins was cited for his cinematography for the western True Grit.

The group's nonfiction film award was given to Charles Ferguson's Inside Job, which examines the financial crisis of 2008.

Olivier Assayas' Carlos, a portrait of terrorist Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, was named best foreign-language film.

The Society, chaired by David Sterritt, also designated six film heritage awards: They went to The Film Foundation, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary; Chaplin at Keystone, a DVD collection of 34 silent films; The Elia Kazan Collection, a DVD collection of 15 of Kazan's films; Upstream, a rediscovered silent film directed by John Ford; Lionel Rogosin's 1955 film On the Bowery; and the restoration of the seminal gay documentary Word Is Out.

The meeting was dedicated to the memory of the late film scholar and Hollywood Reporter film critic Peter Brunette.

This petition is on behalf of two Tibetan artists arrested for peacefully expressing their political opinions:

Tashi Dhondup is a popular singer from the eastern Tibetan region of Amdo. He was arrested following the 2009 release of a CD containing songs which included lyrics calling for the Dalai Lama's return to Tibet and lamenting that "There is no freedom in Tibet."

Plainspoken businessman Dhondup Wangchen bought a small camera and began interviewing monks and yak herders for his documentary film Leaving Fear Behind. He bravely gave a voice to Tibetans living under China's rule. Sadly, after finishing the film, he was arrested and his own voice was silenced.

U.S. Secretary of State Clinton will soon be meeting with Chinese officials. Ask her to press for the release Dhondup Wangchen and Tashi Dhondup, and for respect of the rights to freedom of expression and fair trial in future cases.

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Birgitta Jonsdottir, the Icelandic MP and former WikiLeaks volunteer, who is now fighting a US justice department attempt to get hold of her private messages on Twitter Photograph: Halldor Kolbeins/AFP/Getty Images

A member of parliament in Iceland who is also a former WikiLeaks volunteer says the US justice department has ordered Twitter to hand over her private messages.

Birgitta Jonsdottir, an MP for the Movement in Iceland, said last night on Twitter that the "USA government wants to know about all my tweets and more since november 1st 2009. Do they realize I am a member of parliament in Iceland?"

She said she was starting a legal fight to stop the US getting hold of her messages, after being told by Twitter that a subpoena had been issued. She wrote: "department of justice are requesting twitter to provide the info – I got 10 days to stop it via legal process before twitter hands it over."

She said the justice department was "just sending a message and of course they are asking for a lot more than just my tweets."

Jonsdottir said she was demanding a meeting with the US ambassador to Iceland. "The justice department has gone completely over the top." She added that the US authorities had requested personal information from Twitter as well as her private messages and that she was now assessing her legal position.

"It's not just about my information. It's a warning for anyone who had anything to do with WikiLeaks. It is completely unacceptable for the US justice department to flex its muscles like this. I am lucky, I'm a representative in parliament. But what of other people? It's my duty to do whatever I can to stop this abuse."

Twitter would not comment on the case. In a statement, the company said: "We're not going to comment on specific requests, but, to help users protect their rights, it's our policy to notify users about law enforcement and governmental requests for their information, unless we are prevented by law from doing so."

Most of Twitter's messages are public, but users can also send private messages on the service.

Marc Rotenberg, president of the online watchdog the Electronic Privacy Information Centre (EPIC) in Washington, said it appeared the US justice department was looking at building a case against WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange, over its publication of secret US documents.

EPIC has already requested that the US authorities hand over information about their investigations into people who have donated to WikiLeaks via Mastercard, Visa or PayPal.

"The government has the right to get information, but that has to be done in a lawful way. Is there a lawful prosecution that could be brought against WikiLeaks? It seems unlikely to me. But it's a huge question here in the US," said Rotenberg.

Jonsdottir was involved in WikiLeaks' release last year of a video which showed a US military helicopter shooting two Reuters reporters in Iraq. US authorities believe the video was leaked by Private Bradley Manning.

Adrian Lamo, the hacker who reported Manning to the authorities, indicated that Manning first contacted WikiLeaks in late November 2009 – a period covered by the request for Jonsdottir's tweet history.

In 2009 Jonsdottir invited Assange to a party at the US embassy in Reykjavik where he chatted with the ambassador to Iceland. WikiLeaks had recently published a secret report on the collapse of the country's banks.

"I said it would be a bit of a prank to take him and see if they knew who he was. I don't think they had any idea," Jonsdottir said last year.

The MP has distanced herself from Assange and WikiLeaks, saying he should take a step back to deal with an investigation in Sweden. The 39-year-old is fighting extradition to the country, where two women have accused him of sexual misconduct. He denies the allegations.

In Iceland she has championed the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative which is aimed at creating legislation to make Iceland a legal haven for journalists and media outlets.

She is not the first WikiLeaks associate to be targeted by US officials. Last July Jacob Appelbaum, one of Assange's closest colleagues, was interrogated for three hours and had his phones confiscated upon entering the country at Newark airport. Customs officials photocopied receipts and searched his laptop.

The justice department did not returns calls seeking comment last night.

As Myanmar’s military junta conducts fake elections, the world awaits the release of Myanmar’s most popular lady, Aung San Suu Kyi, from 20 years of house arrest. AK Rockefeller is confident that her time is coming, and that she will soon assume her rightful place as the true elected leader of the people of Myanmar.

Scroll down for a regularly updated list of agencies responding to the crisis and accepting donations. Full reports of casualties, damage and needs are not yet available. A number of InterAction members are responding to the needs of the affected population, many with years of experience working in the country.

On January 12th, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 10 miles outside the capital city of Haiti. The capital city has been devastated with collapsed buildings and people trapped beneath the rubble.

Community efforts to raise money for the responding organizations are a good way to harness the outpouring of generosity for the effected people in Haiti. InterAction has developed guidelines on the most appropriate ways to help those affected by overseas disasters.

Please note that InterAction and most of the organizations below do not have the capacity to support volunteers. For more information about appropriate disaster relief volunteering offers, visit the Center for International Disaster Information.

In years of responding to disasters, the destruction and logistical challenges caused by Haiti’s earthquake which struck on 12 January 2010, were among the worst Oxfam has ever encountered. Our Haiti response (coordinated from a makeshift office in a battered hut after our Port-au-Prince office had been destroyed) has been a story of obstacles overcome.

As with the Asian Tsunami emergency almost five years earlier, public support for the Haiti disaster was overwhelmingly generous, with over $US 98 million raised to fund Oxfam’s humanitarian response. This report shows how Oxfam has utilized this earthquake response fund to help hundreds of thousands of people cope in the days, weeks and months following the disaster.

One year later, Oxfam has achieved considerable success in a context of overwhelming ongoing human need. At the time of writing, we have reached over 500,000 people with our earthquake response program, and a further 700,000 people with activities to prevent the spread of cholera.

Outlook

Oxfam will build on established relationships with local communities and organisations to focus our work on the most vulnerable people in society, particularly women, girls, elderly and disabled people;

We will move from delivering water by tankers to working with government authorities to provide longer-term solutions to help communities gain sustainable water, sanitation, and waste management services;

We will invest a variety of initiatives to help Haitians rebuild their lives and their sense of self-reliance such as: investing in new and recovering small businesses, promoting innovative local design solutions for the building of new homes, and encouraging links between small-scale farmers and consumers to increase access to locally grown food;

We will promote and support more sustainable agricultural practices in Haiti, making use of technologies that protect the environment, and helping people to prepare for, and adapt to, a changing climate in which weather patterns are more unpredictable;

As we implement recovery and reconstruction programs over the next two years, we will continue to press for a just and sustainable rebuilding strategy in Haiti, led by the government and with meaningful participation of civil society, including community and religious leaders and local and international NGOs.

In the year after a devastating earthquake struck Haiti, Americans gave more than $1.4-billion to aid survivors and help the impoverished country rebuild, according to a Chronicle survey of 60 major relief organizations. Roughly 38 percent of that sum has been spent to provide recovery and rebuilding aid.

The outpouring, while generous, fell short of the $1.6-billion Americans contributed in the year after the South Asian tsunamis and the staggering $3.3-billion they donated in the 12 months following Hurricane Katrina.

Distribution of Funds

The share of Haiti donations that has been spent is roughly the same as the amount spent one year after the tsunamis. A year after Hurricane Katrina, charities had spent about 80 percent of donations.

But the percentage of funds spent in Haiti varies widely among organizations.

While a few charities have distributed all the money they raised, others have big sums still on hand. For example, by the end of November, the American Red Cross, in Washington, had committed $188-million of its $479-million in private donations. It expects to have committed $245-million by the one-year anniversary of the earthquake this month.

Concern About Spending

The unspent funds have fueled criticism that charities are moving too slowly in the rebuilding effort.

“There is a huge amount of frustration and a lot of talk about what is the impact of the hundreds of millions that have been raised,” says Wendy Flick, manager of the Haiti emergency-response program at the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, in Cambridge, Mass, which has spent about a quarter of the $1.9-million it received.

Experts on disaster recovery, however, say the rate of spending has been appropriate. If anything, relief workers may be tempted to spend too fast because of public pressure, they say.

There are some environments in which you just can’t spend a lot of money quickly. And Haiti is one of them,” says Peter Walker, director of Tufts University’s Feinstein International Center, in Medford, Mass. “If you want to fuel corruption, then sure, go ahead and pump a huge amount of money in.”

NEW YORK -- It's been almost a year since a catastrophic earthquake killed more than 230,000 people and left more than a million homeless in Haiti. But from the slums of Port-au-Prince to the rural Central Plateau, this impoverished country continues to suffer -- buffeted by Hurricane Tomas in November, a cholera epidemic that left over 3,600 dead and the violent chaos of political stalemate.

Though countries around the world promised billions of dollars in aid and nonprofit organizations raised hundreds of millions in the weeks after the disaster, many have not delivered on their promises and crucial funds have been misspent. In the last year, Americans gave more than $1.4 billion to relief aid to the country, but only 38 percent of that has been spent to provide recovery and rebuilding aid, according to a Chronicle of Philanthropy survey of 60 major relief organizations. (By comparison, after Hurricane Katrina, a domestic disaster, charities spent about 80 percent of the money they had raised.) The Huffington Post contacted each of the organizations to find out how they have spent the money raised for Haiti relief; a complete list is forthcoming.

This week, a leading international charity slammed the relief effort as a "quagmire", sharply criticizing the recovery commission chaired by former U.S. President Bill Clinton, saying that the much-praised panel "failed to live up to its mandate." And some problems have worsened -- rape is prevalent in Haiti's tent camps that were set up all over the country in the wake of the earthquake, according to a report by Amnesty International, which interviewed more than 50 victims of sexual violence.

Soon after the earthquake, leaders from around the world gathered in New York for a donors conference in March, pledging almost $6 billion in aid for 2010-'11. "Today, the international community has come together, dramatically, in solidarity with Haiti and its people," United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his closing remarks at the conference. "Today, we have mobilized to give Haiti and its people what they need most: hope for a new future. We have made a good start, we need now to deliver."

Nine months later, however, the results have been disappointing. Only 63.6 percent of the money pledged for 2010 was actually disbursed, according to the U.N. special envoy for Haiti, and some countries have reneged on their promises, sending less than 1 percent of the amount they pledged to spend on aid. U.N. peacekeepers from Nepal have been blamed for causing the cholera outbreak by dumping human waste into a river used by locals as a water source. (While the U.N. has called for an independent probe of the outbreak, French epidemiologist Renaud Piarroux concluded that the disease was brought into Haiti by outsiders, stating, "There is no other possible explanation for the emergence of the epidemic in a country where it was absent."

But the world seems to have turned its attention elsewhere. The U.N. made a $174-million emergency appeal to help stem the cholera epidemic, but has only raised 20 percent of that.

Speaking on the phone from Haiti, Julie Schindall, a staffer with the antipoverty organization Oxfam International, was emphatic in her outrage. "Big promises were made and there was very little follow-through, that's very typical of how things work in Haiti," she told The Huffington Post. "People are dying because promises are not being kept."

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Schindall, who has been helping with water sanitation and hygiene efforts as part of the emergency cholera response, acknowledged that such relief work is difficult and complicated after any disaster, let alone in a poor country like Haiti with a dismal infrastructure and ineffective government. She said that Oxfam has spent $68 million out of $98 million raised so far, providing emergency aid to roughly a million people.

"One year on, progress is not as we had hoped. We knew that it would be difficult, but there were some tangible steps that could have been done," she said, citing the failure of many NGOs to include Haitians and their government in planning decisions. "We can't leave these people hanging in the balance and dependent on emergency aid. We have to get them back on their feet and living their lives again."

An Oxfam report report released Thursday painted a bleak picture of the situation on the ground.

"As Haitians prepare for the first anniversary of the earthquake, close to one million people are reportedly still displaced," the report said. "Less than 5 percent of the rubble has been cleared, only 15 percent of the temporary housing that is needed has been built and relatively few permanent water and sanitation facilities have been constructed."

The report took particular aim at the Clinton-led Interim Haiti Recovery Commission, which is meant to coordinate relief action between international donors and the Haitian government. Concluding that the IHRC, which has only met a few times, has failed in that mission, Oxfam blasted the commission for not doing more to include Haitian ministries and people in the process.

As an example of the IHRC's aloofness, the Oxfam report claimed it often sends out documentation printed in English to people in the French-speaking country. The commission's action plan was not supported by more than 80 percent of Haitians questioned in a recent Oxfam survey.

Sam Worthington, the president of InterAction, the largest alliance of international NGOs -- which has raised more than $1.2 billion in private funds and spent almost $530 million -- said that though he sees progress in "very concrete ways," including 30,000 temporary shelters that have been set up around the country, there is a long way to go.

"The fact that total pledges in year 1 has not been delivered is not good. We will have to shut down services if resources don't flow," Worthington said, noting that many underfunded NGOs need to shift resources intended for reconstruction to emergency relief. And the political instability of the disputed presidential and legislative elections has exacerbated these problems, he said, noting that water trucks were not being delivered to refugee camps where cholera remains a threat.

"It is crucial that we have a government we can work with, there has to be a leadership role so we can align our efforts," Worthington said. "We're waiting for some clear signal for who is going to win this election. In many ways, decision-making has been put on hold."

Most NGOs on the list compiled by HuffPost have spent hundreds of millions to provide water, sanitation, shelter, food and other assistance to million of Haitians. And many have carefully planned their expenditures, setting aside money for long-term projects that are crucially needed to rebuild the country. But some organizations seemed vague in their plans for how to spend millions in their coffers.

Donors need to ask clear questions about how an organization will spend their money, said Oxfam's Schindall, who cautioned that spending quickly is not always a good plan. "The way that aid money gets spent is very difficult to explain to donors," she said. "It's irresponsible to spend all the money right away but at the same time, it is their responsibility to make clear to donors how they're spending money and why they're spending the money that way. If you haven't spend it all right now, why is that?"

A few more hours and firecrackers will start bringing noise around cities and towns here in this side of the world. 2010 was a very unusual year for many of us. The global economy turmoil was a big threat for many businesses, big and small, but since we all know that the show must go on, we survived 2010.

Though there were some who are still waiting for the right time, there were companies and individuals who launched their website, blog, created their Facebook fan page and Twitter accounts. Their online presence is now paying off with traffic, products sold, subscriptions and communities around their brands.

No, you were not left behind. If you will still wait for the right time this 2011, don’t worry, those things I mentioned above will still happen for others while you wait.

What You Can Do To Start

Update Your Website – Look at your competitor’s website. If you think you’re not that different then it’s high time to look for people who can do a decent overhaul of your website. Right click your website and View Source Code. If you can still see the word FrontPage, then you should really consider this update.

Evaluate Your Content – The start of the year is a good time to evaluate your content. Is it compelling? Is your audience sharing it? Having a nice looking website might propel you to the top for a short period of time but having compelling content will make you stay on top.

Look Into Video Blogs – YouTube is currently the 2nd largest search engine. Yep, it surpassed Yahoo. With proper targeting and syndication, your video content can propel from the bottom to the top of the ladder. Thru videos, you open a whole new channel for sharing, learning and entertainment.

Be A Little More Techie – Working on the digital space is not that complicated if you understand a thing or two. I often here marketers and business owners telling me that they are not techie yet are eager to explore the digital space. It will not hurt to learn something from our side of the road.

What 2011 Will Be Like In Our Space

Rise of New Social Networking Platforms – As the current ones start mobilizing their business models; one of the things that don’t just disappear is advertisement. Some love them and some don’t and those who don’t will be on the lookout for new social networks that don’t run ads or have premium accounts that doesn’t display ads.

Mobile Advertising – Apple recently launch iAds, the advertisement platform brands are excited about. With developer tools to create rich-media content, tapping the iPhone, iPod and iPad consumers has never been this easy. But how much will it cost? Expect other mobile platforms to follow especially Android.

Social CRM – Will become an important piece of the enterprise. Some will be wasting lot money overdoing this but Social CRM will be big for businesses that are looking into porting their customer service in social media. See what Radian6 or SocialMiner will be cooking this year. 2011 will be the year Social CRM goes mainstream.

New Breed of Interactive Agencies – Gone are the days were software houses only build business and enterprise level applications. With booming users of social media channels and API availability, more and more of these shops will venture with social media development and integration. This will be a big threat to integrated advertising agencies.

Local Advertising Will Be Sexy Again- With geolocation apps, which you can access via mobile devices like FourSquare and Gowalla, local advertising will be sexy again. Expect to see deals or coupons from these platforms this year and see how local commerce embraces it.

Portable Content – As iPhone OS, Android and Nokia battle the top spot, companies will be making their content portable and mobile friendly. Before, we just try to deal with making our content compatible with IE, FireFox and Safari. Today, we add three more platforms.

On My End

Moving To Australia – My family and I will be moving to Sydney, Australia January of this year. To be in Manila for a year was awesome. It gave me a clearer view of the social media landscape.

Digital Media and Consulting Firm – I will be completing the service line up of my shop from digital media, mobile applications, communication, and social CRM. My main HQ will be in Sydney. Watch out for the new website and of course the blog.

PhotoGraphikas – Is one website that I really need to update. I will do more photography next year since the entire country is fresh for my eyes. Expect to see more B&W photos in normal and wide-angle formats. By the way, I’m back in using film.

2010 was a great year and I believe that we can do better things in 2011. What I really love about our space is that it changes everyday. The challenge we see everyday, creating solutions in different platforms and understanding the needs of the market is something I look forward in doing more this 2011. Care to join me in my journey this 2011?

This week southern Sudan votes in an historic referendum, to decide whether to remain part of a united Sudan or secede and become the world's newest country.

Whatever the outcome, after decades of war, southern Sudan is one of the least developed regions on earth and will need long-term support.

Tens of thousands of southerners living in northern Sudan have been returning to the south in the months ahead of the referendum. Martha Nyajak and her family lived in the north for six years and have just returned to Unity State.

"We arrived last night. Tonight will be our second night sleeping outside and it's been very cold. This is my country. I hope in the future to be able to send my children to school... they've never been to school." Oxfam is helping to provide new arrivals - and the villages where they are staying - with water and shelter. Photo: Caroline Gluck

The influx of returnees is placing great strain on extremely poor communities, where people already struggle to get enough food and water. Over half of the people in southern Sudan still do not have access to a safe water source - many rely on dirty streams or stagnant pools. Oxfam engineers help repair boreholes and pumps to provide communities with a regular supply of clean flowing water. Photo: Caroline Gluck

People have high hopes and expectations for development after the referendum. Rebecca Nyajung and her family also recently returned to southern Sudan after 21 years living in the north. "I'm hoping when the south gets independence we can expect to have good clinics, water, and can live well...I'm hoping we can have a better future." But with so much to do, southern Sudan will need a lot of help to meet these expectations. Photo: Caroline Gluck

Over 200,000 people across southern Sudan fled their homes last year to escape deadly localised conflicts - often sparked by competition over scarce resources such as land, water and cattle, and fuelled by legacies of war such as an abundance of small arms. Here in Lakes State, Oxfam advisers speak at a peacebuilding and conflict resolution workshop, which aims to ensure that disputes are resolved peacefully within the communities. Photo: Caroline Gluck

Only one in fifteen people in southern Sudan have access to latrines and adequate sanitation. As a result, water-borne diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea can easily spread. Oxfam health workers organise regular community meetings to explain basic steps that can help reduce the risk of illness. Photo: Caroline Gluck

Regularly cleaning jerry cans - which are used to carry the family's water - is one way of reducing illness. Women in Unity State help organise the community for frequent cleaning sessions. Oxfam distributes jerry cans in villages - a precious asset when many women and children have to walk miles every day just to get a few litres of water. Photo: Caroline Gluck

Southern Sudan has considerable agricultural potential, but a lack of infrastructure - such as roads and storage facilities - and ongoing insecurity has limited production. Many of the fruits and vegetables in the markets of the capital, Juba, are even imported from Kenya and Uganda. Oxfam is supporting small-scale farmers and women's groups by providing a variety of seeds, tools and equipment. Photo: Alun McDonald

Vast cattle camps like this one are common in Lakes State, and are often home to thousands of animals. Oxfam has trained animal health workers to ensure that cows and goats are properly vaccinated against disease, and can be treated if they get sick. The animals can provide an income for the family and milk for the children. Oxfam's livelihoods team has also distributed goats and poultry to help support poor families. Photo: Caroline Gluck

Many children spend their days looking after cattle in the camps, or fetching water. Few children in southern Sudan have the opportunity to go to school - less than half manage to complete basic schooling. Only a quarter of girls ever get to attend school at all. The war disrupted the education of an entire generation - around 80 percent of the population is illiterate. Today there are more schools but many are basic and overcrowded. Photo: Alun McDonald

No children appear in the play. The speakers are adults, the parents and if you like other relations of the children. The lines can be shared out in any way you like among those characters. The characters are different in each small scene as the time and child are different.

1

Tell her it's a game

Tell her it's serious

But dont frighten her

Dont tell her they'll kill her

Tell her it's important to be quiet

Tell her she'll have cake if she's good

Tell her to curl up as if she's in bed

But not to sing.

Tell her not to come out

Tell her not to come out even if she hears shouting

Dont frighten her

Tell her not to come out even if she hears nothing for a long time

Tell her we'll come and find her

Tell her we'll be here all the time.

Tell her something about the men

Tell her they're bad in the game

Tell her it's a story

Tell her they'll go away

Tell her she can make them go away if she keeps still

By magic

But not to sing.

2

Tell her this is a photograph of her grandmother, her uncles and me

Tell her her uncles died

Dont tell her they were killed

Tell her they were killed

Dont frighten her.

Tell her her grandmother was clever

Dont tell her what they did

Tell her she was brave

Tell her she taught me how to make cakes

Dont tell her what they did

Tell her something

Tell her more when she's older.

Tell her there were people who hated jews

Dont tell her

Tell her it's over now

Tell her there are still people who hate jews

Tell her there are people who love jews

Dont tell her to think jews or not jews

Tell her more when she's older

Tell her how many when she's older

Tell her it was before she was born and she's not in danger

Dont tell her there's any question of danger.

Tell her we love her

Tell her dead or alive her family all love her

Tell her her grandmother would be proud of her.

3

Dont tell her we're going forever

Tell her she can write to her friends, tell her her friends can maybe come and visit

Tell her it's sunny there

Tell her we're going home

Tell her it's the land God gave us

Dont tell her religion

Tell her her great great great great lots of greats grandad lived there

Dont tell her he was driven out

Tell her, of course tell her, tell her everyone was driven out and the country is waiting for us to come home

Dont tell her she doesnt belong here

Tell her of course she likes it here but she'll like it there even more.

Tell her it's an adventure

Tell her no one will tease her

Tell her she'll have new friends

Tell her she can take her toys

Dont tell her she can take all her toys

Tell her she's a special girl

Tell her about Jerusalem.

4

Dont tell her who they are

Tell her something

Tell her they're bedouin, they travel about

Tell her about camels in the desert and dates

Tell her they live in tents

Tell her this wasnt their home

Dont tell her home, not home, tell her they're going away

Dont tell her they dont like her

Tell her to be careful.

Dont tell her who used to live in this house

No but dont tell her her great great grandfather used to live in this house

No but dont tell her Arabs used to sleep in her bedroom.

Tell her not to be rude to them

Tell her not to be frightened

Dont tell her she cant play with the children

Dont tell her she can have them in the house.

Tell her they have plenty of friends and family

Tell her for miles and miles all round they have lands of their own

Tell her again this is our promised land.

Dont tell her they said it was a land without people

Dont tell her I wouldnt have come if I'd known.

Tell her maybe we can share.

Dont tell her that.

5

Tell her we won

Tell her her brother's a hero

Tell her how big their armies are

Tell her we turned them back

Tell her we're fighters

Tell her we've got new land.

6

Dont tell her

Dont tell her the trouble about the swimming pool

Tell her it's our water, we have the right

Tell her it's not the water for their fields

Dont tell her anything about water.

Dont tell her about the bulldozer

Dont tell her not to look at the bulldozer

Dont tell her it was knocking the house down

Tell her it's a building site

Dont tell her anything about bulldozers.

Dont tell her about the queues at the checkpoint

Tell her we'll be there in no time

Dont tell her anything she doesnt ask

Dont tell her the boy was shot

Dont tell her anything.

Tell her we're making new farms in the desert

Dont tell her about the olive trees

Tell her we're building new towns in the wilderness.

Dont tell her they throw stones

Tell her they're not much good against tanks

Dont tell her that.

Dont tell her they set off bombs in cafes

Tell her, tell her they set off bombs in cafes

Tell her to be careful

Dont frighten her.

Tell her we need the wall to keep us safe

Tell her they want to drive us into the sea

Tell her they dont

Tell her they want to drive us into the sea.

Tell her we kill far more of them

Dont tell her that

Tell her that

Tell her we're stronger

Tell her we're entitled

Tell her they dont understand anything except violence

Tell her we want peace

Tell her we're going swimming.

7

Tell her she cant watch the news

Tell her she can watch cartoons

Tell her she can stay up late and watch Friends.

Tell her they're attacking with rockets

Dont frighten her

Tell her only a few of us have been killed

Tell her the army has come to our defence

Dont tell her her cousin refused to serve in the army.

Dont tell her how many of them have been killed

Tell her the Hamas fighters have been killed

Tell her they're terrorists

Tell her they're filth

Dont

Dont tell her about the family of dead girls

Tell her you cant believe what you see on television

Tell her we killed the babies by mistake

Dont tell her anything about the army

Tell her, tell her about the army, tell her to be proud of the army. Tell her about the family of dead girls, tell her their names why not, tell her the whole world knows why shouldnt she know? tell her there's dead babies, did she see babies? tell her she's got nothing to be ashamed of. Tell her they did it to themselves. Tell her they want their children killed to make people sorry for them, tell her I'm not sorry for them, tell her not to be sorry for them, tell her we're the ones to be sorry for, tell her they cant talk suffering to us. Tell her we're the iron fist now, tell her it's the fog of war, tell her we wont stop killing them till we're safe, tell her I laughed when I saw the dead policemen, tell her they're animals living in rubble now, tell her I wouldnt care if we wiped them out, the world would hate us is the only thing, tell her I dont care if the world hates us, tell her we're better haters, tell her we're chosen people, tell her I look at one of their children covered in blood and what do I feel? tell her all I feel is happy it's not her.

Please feel free to download the play. This play can be read or performed anywhere by any number of people. Should you wish to apply for rights, please contact ruth@casarotto.co.uk, who will license the performances free of charge provided that no admission fee is charged and that a collection is taken at each performance for Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), 33a Islington Park Street, London N1 1 QB. Tel: 020-7226 4114. Website: map-uk.org. Email: info@map-uk.org

“We believe in second chances and second opportunities,” declared the senior vice president for marketing from the Cleveland Cavaliers.This pronouncement accompanied the offer of an announcing job to Ted Williams, the homeless man whose “golden” voice and impoverished visage went viral on a YouTube video.Beyond his elevation by the media to visible and viable economic status, Williams became a clear example of the selective compassion of both corporate America and its consuming public.

More than 50 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us that “true compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial.It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.” What is this edifice that generates the millions of homeless that populate our cities?Why has poverty now grown to an unprecedented modern level of almost 50 million, exceeding even the statistics and reality of what Dr. King observed in the 1960’s?

Clearly, the inequality deeply embedded into the variety of contemporary capitalism practiced in the United States is the source for this continuing and growing rate of poverty. As noted by the recently passed social critic, Tony Judt, in his essential text, Ill Fares the Land: “Inequality, then, is not just unattractive in itself; it clearly corresponds to pathological social problems that we cannot hope to address unless we attend to their underlying cause.”Yet, we remain, to a great extent, paralyzed by our own individualistic and privatized response to those social problems.

Compounding those problems, from homelessness to poverty, is the runaway growth of inequality in the last decade.The top 1/10 of 1 percent of Americans now earn as much as the bottom 120 millions of us.The expanding inequality is further evident in the exceptional fact that the top 1 percent owns 70 percent of all financial assets.Not only is there no political effort to address this massive inequality, there is, in fact, a counter movement by both political parties to embrace a politics of austerity that would impose even more financial burdens on the poor and working class in the United States.

This same corporate-controlled political class deliberately eschews addressing another key source of the economic imbalance that impoverishes our federal budget – the ballooning expenses of the maintenance of empire.Beyond the 700 billion dollar Pentagon budget, the costs of wars and far-flung military bases around the globe, accounts for trillions of dollars.The indictment that Dr. King made in the same cited speech above retains its moral urgency: “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”

It is hard to imagine that the slide towards spiritual death will be salvaged by the redemption of one person at a time.Irrespective of the feel-good nature of the salvation of Ted Williams, we need to address the larger context of the persistence of pathological inequality.If we cannot mount the collective effort to transform this system from the extremes of wealth and poverty, there will be no second chances for our nation and our democracy.